Some of my readers ask "why talk so much about yourself in your reviews?" to which I say "so what?"…read more a review is at best a photo from the mind of some unknown, likely flawed, or perhaps even in these days of AI not, human. Who's to say it's real or not? so instead of my usual iron-clad standard procedure of "cutting to the chase" or "getting down to the dozen" as sayings go, i'll just this once add some personal details, important as you'll see if you read that far. think of it as my way of assuring you MY reviews aren't from some artificial digital ersatz mentality. Nope, mine are from a decidedly flawed perhaps diseased but very human writer. pay attention, this is the good stuff! for dry, objective details skip the next paragraph. First, i'm entranced by a boundary. peering out over the west side railing of the gg bridge I wonder "what in the world is really out there?" maybe that's why, among less flippant reasons, i'm not much afraid of what comes next when you run out of days. i figure beyond that final boundary lies the biggest surprise in all existence. second, i'm both averse and adverse to groups meaning i'm ill-suited to tour travel, but you can't get to certain destinations alone. antarctica is such a one. third, i inherited my dna from germans and norwegians, so i like ice, snow and wind-chill. finally and quite frankly, I firmly believe ufos hide out in oceans, probably near the poles: i wanta see one. So it is that I felt compelled to travel to "el fin del mundo". now you know enough about your reviewer to properly gauge the content of what follows: I recently completed an antarctic "expedition" (carriers prefer this term to suggest high adventure rather than merely mundane luxury travel). if you plan such a trip, somewhere truly unusual, choose a high-end company like a&k, worthy of higher price. ships are small, fewer passengers. low-end tours on floating hotels only take you nearby, passengers can't disembark. Much of the trip, you sail on not-calm blue water; unless you're into self-abuse don't take an ice-breaker. the more recent the ship's vintage the more likely it will benefit from current technology that increases stability. my trip on a&k was excellent, aboard the good ship le lyrial: flagged by the french tour company Ponant, 500', 140 passengers, 139 crew. to be sure this came at no bargain, in fact I paid a similar sum to buy a car for my daughter a month before. while this kind of travel was one i'll not soon repeat, a good many of my fellow groupers had been on A/K tours to exotic destinations and planned more. this trip met my expectations, but most places i might go next, i'll just go: rent car, buy roadmap, turn off the "never-lost" gps... and i'm good. judging from the fine and dandy folks i met aboard le lyrial, this mode of travel would seem unnecessarily frugal, crude, perhaps even gauche, but for sure lacking, and in fact does, a certain vital level of service and accoutrements necessary to the requirements of those seeking more informed and gracious style of travel. i made a few friends on the trip, like of mind and spirit... but few they were indeed. luxury cruises will seem better or worse depending very much on the talents of the tour's crew and equipment. in this case the ship and its crew were supplied by Ponant, while the organizers of the activities were done by A&K. in many ways the quality of this AK experience was as much due to Ponant as it was to A&K. both groups were excellent in their service and worked together seamlessly. ponant provided for those "sailing" the ship, operating the machinery and all that. equally well done was the kitchen staff, always cooking up something fresh despite the fact that we were 3 weeks out. tasty, with a french touch here and there (bangers 'n mash for Brit breakfast), but while plentiful and ever available, I hate to report that the wines failed to match the menu. the excursions onto islands and mainland antarctica were lead by a/k experts, with a steady hand on the tiller of those terribly unstable zodiac rubber raftboats. plenty of gear was required to stay dry and warm enough, and when you were done frollicking on ice and snow hours of fun at the bar remained. lots of dandy folks were along for the ride, mostly well-heeled types from coastal cities in the country they lived. most common topic initially was: "why are you doing this?" and most common reason given was holding up 7 fingers, meaning this was the seventh continent to visit, as part of a bucket list, a bit lame but ok. it came as no shock to me then, that when asked why i was aboard i got such uncomfortable stares. So I simply decided not to extend an invitation to join me on my veranda at night. For there, surely enough you'd often find me, clocking the dark depths, perusing boundaries, hoping to spot a ufo emerging from the frigid antarctic waters... as I firmly believe they do. Spend $35 grand filling your bucket... i'll do mine.

My wife loved the trip to India. This was my second trip to India going with Odyssey Unlimited for…read morethe first trip. Odyssey is almost half the price and while a few of the hotels were not as good and there was more bus transportation, overall the trip was far superior. The problem with the Abercrombie and Kent trip started at the beginning when I wanted to an extra night at the first hotel as we were arriving at 5:00 AM. Abercrombie wanted exactly double the price for that night as what was listed on the hotel website. Overall a few of the stops were ridiculous like the " Bollywood experience " where you go to a dance studio and you see some schmuck dancing. The pace was grindingly slow, sometimes barely getting 3000 steps a day. The guide was adequate but not great. Hotels very, very nice but overall Abercrombie was not worth the money. The other travelers on the trip were great and we loved the group. India is a fabulous trip but A&K is just not a good value if you are active.

The trip of a lifetime. Andrea and Patti are the best to work with. We went on a 10 day tour of…read moreItaly and I can't say enough about it. I would do another trip with them in a heartbeat. Having everything booked and paid for before we even left was less stress for when we arrived. Every day was something more gorgeous than the day before. Can't wait for the next excursion!!

I recently returned from a spectacular trip to Italy. Although Andy and Patti planned numerous…read moreadventures for a true "Italian" experience, there was still enough time to shop and engage in independent exploration. Compared to previous vacations, Skyline made traveling easy. All I had to do was show up with my luggage. Thank you, Skyline, for a most memorable vacation!

When I became frustrated with trying to book a vacation on the internet, I went into Grove Travel…read moreand Faye was able to suggest a perfect trip for us within our budget. Why didn't I think to use a professional before?? We would never have found this on our own, and she made sure we had a direct flight and knew that we could get two rooms for the price of one! Highly recommend.

Always dependable for every vacation that I have. If you need someone to do something complex they…read morewill get it done.

I have used Brookhaven Travel for my last two major trips to Jamaica and Mexico. Not only has…read moreDebbie Rice gone above and beyond she always keeps you in the loop of things via email and phone calls. Numerous of my friends have used Debbie's services for their destination flights and all have agreed she is the best in the business. My recent trip to Playa del Carmen for a destination wedding was hassle free and just what I expected. Safe travels and very comfortable. Thanks for getting me that aisle seat both ways :)

Used to be a Gold member, I renewed every year. It use to be cheap insurance against the car…read morebreaking down. Until I actually needed AAA in the middle of the night. Could not get any response through the 800# or the App. Rena from AAA corporate tells me there is no record of the situation; and what do I want? "Oh I can't make the decision as to whether You want to renew or not." Thanks Rena, easiest decision I made today.

*** Beware, AAA is NOT to be trusted *** I have been a very…read morelong time AAA member, multiple decades. Today I received a letter from AAA to alert that they have chosen to "Non-Renew" my membership because, get this, I had the audacity to actually fully use the services that I paid for. The letter from AAA stated exactly... "Upon reviewing your membership, we have elected to non-renew your AAA Membership at the end of your current membership term because of disproportionate use of services" Consumers beware, there are other options out there and my positive early experience with AAA has now fully deteriorated. Thankfully, no more waiting over 6 hours for a tow for me!

I worked with Becca Arkins to help with a 22 person trip to Aruba. It was my first 'girls trip'…read moreand I had a lot of questions about logistics (and everything else). From phone numbers to save to my phone, to what kind of outlets, to boat and dinner reservations Becca gave me a good amount of options without being overwhelming for me to choose from. We had an amazing time and her help and perks helped it be a lifetime memory for all of us. I have an email in for her to help with our next trip and recommend her to anyone! Thanks!!

Peg Haskins and Viking Travel are superb. We booked a Viking River Cruise for our 45th anniversary…read more this fall. We let Peg make all the plans and she was one step ahead during the entire planning process. Our trip was top-notch and we cannot thank her enough! Viking and Peg have been in business for over 50 years and it shows. They truly are travel experts. Thanks, Peg!

Great company our guide Cory was a joy to have along side. Very knowledgable about the area…read more Shared stories along the way. Our driver Ben was wonderful and provided us with interesting facts about the area. I highly recommend them for the Alaska Cruising.

Took a Holland Tulip Time tour. Three bus loads and around 150 tourists. Too big! There were…read moreother "issues", but I'll leave it at that. Very conflicting travel info and it cost me over $400. When I called to let them know about this, I was told they would call me back. Still waiting. I won't use them again.

Earlier this year, a friend referred me to Donna from Hinsdale Travel. From the first call, I was…read morestruck by her professionalism, efficiency and pleasantness. I enjoyed the process of planning an October cruise with Donna's assistance and quickly felt confident that she was addressing all of our needs/preferences down to the smallest detail. Because of COVID, our cruise has been cancelled. Although I was impressed with Donna for the way she helped plan our trip, I have been ever more impressed by the way she has worked so hard to help us unwind these travel plans, making every effort to minimize any negative impact resulting from the disruption in our plans. COVID will pass and we will start to travel again. And my first call will be to Donna at Hinsdale Travel.

Hinsdale travel arranged hotel, car rental and air travel to our recent trip to Hawaii! Our…read morevacation was fantastic and memorable. Everything fell into place nicely. Highly recommend the personalized service we received from staff at Hinsdale Travel.

Total scam! Literally, Highway Robbery!…read more I have an iPass account connected to a card for automatic replenishment. I have 2 vehicles registered to my account. Apparently, the system messed up taking tolls for the entire month of December. I found out about it after a letter arrived in Marc 2024 telling me I owed over $330, mostly in, "Invoice Fees". The actual tolls were about $100 or less. I called to chat with someone (I neglected to get the person's name) and was told that there was nothing to be done other than appeal. I wrote the letter, filled out the form, provided all the information, and, BIG SURPRISE, my appeal to remove the invoice fees was declined. I ended up paying almost $370 in 2 payments. April 11, I received another letter telling me I owed over $300 again! I called and spoke with Michael M who was able to determine that these funds were due on my other vehicle. Thankfully, Michael is a decent human and hit a few keys, removing the fees so I only need to pay the actual tolls of $73. To the Illinois Toll Authority bosses. You deserve to go to jail for theft on a grand scale. This is another example of bloated, ridiculous, Government waste and greed. It's shameful to demand money from drivers and then leave people with absolutely no recourse when the system messes up. We, drivers, are stuck with massively overinflated bills for YOUR screw-ups! Just shameful!

I got an I-passbill in the mail for over $1,000. I was confused because I have a transponder in my…read morewindshield. Turns out of my plate is not linked to that transponder, the money was never taken out. I received my bill in November, the tolls went all the way back to June! So obviously an ungodly amount of late fees and fines accumulated. I called to see what I could do, I was advised to pay the actual tolls which was $130.00, and to go in person to contest the fees. So I showed up in person the next day, I explained my situation and I was told that they don't allow anyone to contest tolls or fines. In my head this is theft, I paid my tolls why am I going to have to pay over $900 in fees?!?!